Man sentenced to 10 years for sex assault
A state judge sentenced a Kalihi man to 10 years in prison Wednesday for kidnapping and sexually assaulting his children’s 11-year-old playmate.
Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario sentenced Jhondireck Borja Agpaoa, 48, to the maximum penalty for second-degree sexual assault.
Agpaoa had been charged with first-degree sexual assault, punishable by a mandatory 20-year prison term, but pleaded guilty in February to the reduced charge in a plea agreement with the prosecutor. He also pleaded guilty to a reduced kidnapping charge.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how much of the 10 years Agpaoa must spend behind bars before he is eligible for release on parole.
Police said Agpaoa tried to lure the girl into his home in April 2010 by offering her pizza.
He and the girl lived in separate units of a multifamily residence.
When the girl refused to go into a bedroom, Agpaoa told his children, who were ages 9, 7 and 2 at the time, to play outside. He then grabbed the girl, took the her into the bedroom and sexually assaulted her, police said.
Puppy mill manager extradited to Hawaii
A man charged with 153 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for his role in a Waimanalo puppy mill is being extradited to Hawaii to face charges, the city prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.
David Lee Becker, manager of the puppy mill where deplorable conditions were discovered in February 2011, was detained Friday in Las Vegas and is expected to appear in court Monday.
"We’re really pleased … that finally justice can be served," said Pamela Burns, president and CEO of the Hawaiian Humane Society.
A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said Becker left Hawaii before he could be served with the criminal complaint and the penal summons. Since he was not charged with a felony, the court could not issue a bench warrant for his arrest. The prosecutor’s office asked for a governor’s requisition warrant to have Becker extradited after learning his whereabouts from the Humane Society.
Hiker who died in fall identified
A 30-year-old Kapaa woman died Tuesday night after falling off a cliff in Kalalau Valley.
Kauai County officials identified the woman as Rose Schlegel.
Police and firefighters used a helicopter to recover Schlegel’s body Wednesday morning, officials said.
Authorities said Schlegel had hiked into the valley with a friend and was walking near their campsite about 10 p.m. when she fell off a cliff and landed on rocks about 20 feet below.
Other campers and a medic from out of state tried to resuscitate Schlegel, but couldn’t.
Another camper used his radio to call the Coast Guard, which notified the Kauai Fire Department. A fire helicopter could not reach the area until daybreak.
Police arrest 3 in robbery case
Two Kailua-Kona men and a 17-year-old boy were arrested after a robbery Tuesday night in the parking lot of Coconut Grove Market Place.
An assault was reported at 11:30 p.m., and Kona patrol officers learned that a 27-year-old Kailua-Kona man had been confronted by three young males who attacked him, threw him to the ground, beat him and took his backpack, police said. As the assailants prepared to flee in a blue Ford Bronco, the victim reached into the SUV and retrieved his backpack, police said. The suspects then drove away.
The victim suffered scrapes and a cut to his face but declined medical treatment.
At 11:47 p.m., police found the SUV and its occupants on a dirt road behind a gas station on Henry Street in Kailua-Kona. They arrested the 18-year-old and 20-year-old men and the boy on suspicion of robbery.
